Set You Free
by DARK-EVIL-GODS21
Summary: This story takes place after Clementine and the cabin group leave the cabin, but instead of going to the ski resort, they decide to head into another direction and arrive at a location that Clementine is all too familiar with...
1. Past Demon

**This story takes place after Clementine and the cabin group leave the cabin, but instead of going to the ski resort, they decide to head into another direction and arrive at a location that Clementine is all too familiar with...**

Clementine walked besides Luke as she and the cabin group trudged through the muddy forest away from their cabin. They had left almost 3 weeks ago and have been on the move since. Only stopping to make camp for the night or when Rebecca needed it, they had passed a few towns and convenient stores to scavenge for essential supplies like first aid, food, and water.

They had decided to go south, thinking that the north was too risky with the cold and limited supplies they had. Clementine was disappointed of course because she hoped to get to Wellington and try to find Christa. But she wasn't going to risk the lives and safety of her new group to try and fulfill a lost cause when Christa was most likely dead.

The last time she did that-

Her depressing thoughts were cut short with Luke nudging her to get her attention.

"What?" she asked slightly annoyed by the nudge.

He gave her a smirk like he knew what she was thinking, "Just making sure you're not dead to the world Clem," he responded with the same smirk, "you looked like a lurker there for a minute."

Clementine rolled her eyes with a smile.

"I was just-" her smile faded and her eyes became hooded with sadness, "thinking about something."

Luke gave her a sympathetic look and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Clementine gave him a thankful smile in response.

Ever since Clementine had opened up to Luke back at the cabin about Lee, they had both become closer over the last few weeks and bonded over anything they could think of. She hadn't told him much about her old group other than what Lee had been to her and that he died protecting her. Clementine liked to think of Luke as the older brother she never had. She would give her life for him and she knew he would do the same.

She had also grown closer to Nick, Sarah, Carlos, and Alvin. But not as much as Luke. She had succeeded in becoming acquainted with Rebecca too, but just to the point where they tolerated each other. They only spoke to each other when need be or she needed help with tasks that an enlarged stomach wouldn't let her do, but Alvin mostly handled that.

Her thoughts were once again cut short by a slightly more forceful nudge.

"Stop that!" Clementine playfully said, no longer dwelling on her past memories.

"Well then stop dying on us," Luke challenged with a smile.

Clementine huffed, "What do you even want," she asked him.

"Just trying to tell you Nick says there's a settlement up ahead and we can make it before nightfall which could possibly mean...?" Luke started with a growing smile.

"A possibility of having an actual roof over our heads," Clementine finished with a smirk.

They had been using nothing but sleeping bags since they had left weeks back on the cold, hard ground which left all of them sore and annoyed when they woke up with plenty of mosquito bites to add on to that. So sleeping in a actual house or shelter sounded like heaven to Clementine. The towns they had passed before were too dangerous to set up in so they had never stayed long enough to use them. Be it thieves or walkers staying there.

Luke smiled at her and nodded, "Hopefully it ain't too dangerous to set up for the night or maybe we can finally stop running around and finally settle down."

Clementine thought it would be great to finally stop travelling all over the place and finally take a load off. Everyone was constantly on watch for Carver, more so with Rebecca for some reason. Clementine didn't want to pry but she had a suspicion it had to do with the baby when she heard her praying back at the cabin that "it" would be "his."

The more they walked, the stranger Clementine started to feel. As if she had been here before. But she immediately dismissed the notion, she had been in a forest before. But she couldn't help that lingering feeling that she was wrong to dismiss it.

Nick slowed down so that they could catch up to him. He was holding a map in his hands.

"Hey," he greeted them.

"What's up Nick?" Luke asked him

"We've been travelling for a while and it looks like we're about to come up on a city." he told them with a hint of excitement and a bit of fear in his voice.

Clementine didn't really blame him for hoping for a safe and comfortable place to make their home for a while. She would be lying if she said she wasn't just as excited, even though that strange feeling was still bothering her. But with a city, there was the risk of a large amount of walkers and bandits who could have taken refuge there which is probably why Nick was a bit fearful as well as Clementine.

"What exactly is the name of the city Nick?" Luke asked with curiosity.

Clementine wondered where they were going too. She wondered if she had ever been there before and it would be a huge advantage if she, or anyone for that matter, knew how to get around the city and know the most safe routes.

Then Nick responded with an answer that made Clementines heart stop. The memories hitting her full force made her stop in her tracks.

"Savannah."

**To be continued...**


	2. We're Here For You

"Clem?"

Luke looked shocked at Clementines abrupt halt as soon as Nick finished talking. Her eyes were hooded with sadness, regret, and alot of other emotions that Luke couldn't pick up on.

Clementine seemed to recover from her mood change really quickly and plastered a fake smile.

"I'm fine Luke." she answered as she started to walk ahead.

"That's not what I asked." Luke whispered to himself with a growing suspicion but nevertheless, he continued on with the rest of the group deciding he would get her to talk about it later.

Meanwhile Clementine was alone with her thoughts as she let the others pass her so she was in the back, not wanting to let others get suspicious either.

Luke gave her a concerned look as she started dropping back but Clementine gave him a encouraging smile that she was alright and he (reluctantly) passed her and let her be.

As she was alone with her thoughts she started thinking about how much she had been through with Luke and the others in the cabin group like Sarah when they snuck off one time when they made camp to play a game of tag. Clementine loved feeling like a kid again considering she had been forced to grow up. Carlos had gave them a stern talking to but when Sarah and Clementine both just shared one glance and a smirk after he was done, they knew it was worth it.

She thought about all the times Luke had been there for her. He had always been there for her if things got too tough and she needed a shoulder to cry on. She remembered when they were scavenging a gas station and Luke had found a few candy bars and shared them secretly with only Clementine and Sarah. It was possibly the best thing she had tasted ever since this apocalypse had started.

These memories brought a soft smile to her face

**Please don't be one of them...PLEASE don't become a walker...**

Her smile faded to a emotionless thin line as her memories of Savannah surfaced.

**I don't know if I can...**

Her lips formed a sad frown as her eyes started to sting as she held back the tears.

**Maybe...maybe...maybe I shouldn't let you turn.**

The regret surfaced as well with this memory and the silent tears started rolling down her face as her lower lip trembled.

**I'll go...I'll...I'll leave you...I'll go as fast as I can..**

A sob escaped her throat but she held the rest back as her knees started to feel weak as the memories assaulted her.

**Don't go...**

That did it.

She collapsed on her knees and fell to the ground with a loud wail escaping her, not bothering to try to be discreet any longer.

"CLEM!" Luke called out in alarm after seeing her collapse and ran to her. The others heard as well and turned only to be greeted by the sight of the little girl, they had started to see as a family member, wailing on the ground with Luke comforting her. They all rushed back and stood behind Luke to see what was wrong.

"Clem, are you alright," Luke asked with panic, "are you hurt?"

"Lee..." was Clementines only response as she continued to cry into her "brothers" shoulder.

Luke soon pieced everything together with her reaction to their destination and her short response of her former guardians name. He didn't know what exactly, but knew her deceased guardian was somehow tied to the city.

"It's gonna be alright Clem," Luke whispered.

The others caught on, even though they didn't know Lee being as she only told Luke about him. But they knew that this "Lee" was someone obviously important to her.

"Don't cry Clem," Sarah comforted her.

"Everything's going to be fine Clementine," Carlos added.

"We're sure he was a great guy," Alvin said with a comforting hand placed on Clementines shoulder.

"We're here for you Clem," Nick added, still recovering from his mother's death, he knew what she was going through.

"Every step of the way," Rebecca said with a sad look on her face.

Clementines sobs subsided into tiny whimpers as her new family comforted her.

"Thank you..." she said once she regained herself.

"Do you need help or-" Luke started.

"I can walk." she calmly interrupted him and stood up.

He didn't pry and knew if she wanted to talk, she would. Right now, she just needed some support.

"Alright," Luke began, "but if you need to talk, I'm here for you."

"All of us." Carlos said with concern.

Clementine gave them all a soft smile and a thankful nod. Luke got her up and they started on their way again, with Luke leading Clementine with a hand resting on her shoulder, should she need someone.

Clementine was deep in thought once again. She started to think about how unfair it was that THIS had to be the place that they had to come across. All those hopeful thoughts of finding her parents and that odd look Lee would give her when he said that her parents were probably fine. Only now did she realize that that look meant Lee KNEW that her parents were dead but went along with it for her sake.

She didn't blame him. How could you tell an 8 year-old girl that her parents were eaten by walkers.

Then an idea hit her. One that made her sad but a bit tranquil at the thought of it.

"Guys," she called out, "can I ask you something?"

The group stopped and gave her curious looks.

"What is it Clementine?" Carlos asked politely.

Her mind was made up.

She had to do this.

"Can we make a stop once we're in Savannah," she started unconsciously laying a hand on her pistol in her pocket, "there's something I need to do."

**AN: And there is Chapter 2! DECISION TIME! I'm planning on ending it next chapter tomorrow because I have college classes starting back up and I won't be able to update often, but if you guys and girls REALLY want to, I can extend it a bit longer (I don't know how long, you guys can give me ideas if you want to keep it going and I'll give you a shoutout) with somewhere between common and rare updates. But anyway, THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS ON THE FIRST CHAPTER! I didn't expect so much enthusiasm from you people on my story :) Be sure to leave a review and I await your word... **


	3. The Story of a Hero

The group set up camp in the forest. They would have made it to Savannah before nightfall, but Clementine breaking down had delayed them. She felt extremely guilty, a bit ashamed, and surprised that she had been crying that long but the group reassured her that everything was fine. A little girl can only hold so much before she needs someone to talk to.

She hated that title of her but she knew it was true. After everything she had been through, she hated being called a child or little.

The group agreed that when they found a safe spot in Savannah to set up, that they would help Clementine with what she had asked of them if they could. They saw her determination to get this done. She was going to retrace her steps from the Marsh House and find Lee. She didn't know what would happen when she found him. But she did know she wasn't going to leave him as a walker.

She was weak back then, but now she was older, more mature, and able to take care of herself.

She could do this.

She could pay Lee back for everything he had taught her.

Clementine set up her sleeping bag and was prepared to fall in it until Luke and Nick came over.

"Hey Clem," Luke began nervously, "we set up a campfire and were wondering if you wanted to join us."

Clementine knew why he was nervous, she had just broken down not that long ago and he thought she wanted some time alone.

"Yeah," she responded, "just give me a second."

Luke and Nick both looked relieved and happy as they nodded and head over to the fire that, somehow, Clementine hadn't noticed until now.

She set her backpack down and caught a glimpse of Lees picture inside, making a split-second decision, she grabbed the photo and walked over to the fire where the cabin group were sharing stories with good laughs being exchanged. She smiled at the sight as she sat between Sarah and Luke.

For a while, Clementine was content to just listen to the stories that were exchanged between her friends. She then remembered the photo in her hand and made a decision.

"I have a story," Clementine said as Luke finished one of his.

Everyone looked at her in curiosity.

"Its about a man named Lee," she continued, "the man that taught me everything I know today on how to survive."

Everyone looked surprised that she was opening up about this. They figured she would need more time to even open up about Lee a little bit. But Clementine thought they deserved to know. She saw everyone there as her new family, not just a group.

Just like how Lee became her father.

So she trusted these people with her past and what she remembered about Lee.

"What was he like," Carlos asked, encouraging her to start.

Clementine smiled, "One word description...selfless, he always put the safety of others before himself. If we were running low on food or water, he'd always insist that someone else needed it more than him."

Everyone was listening intently as Clementine explained everything about her guardian, which only encouraged her to continue.

"He was a teacher. He taught history at college level. I even asked him at one point if we could start a class with just the two of us," she said with a smile that faded to a frown, "but we never got the chance."

Luke quickly helped her recover "He taught you how to survive right," he remembered that from back at the cabin when she told him a bit about Lee.

Her smile returned, "Yeah, he taught me how to shoot a pistol."

She shook her head, "I would never even TRY to handle a rifle," she said earning a chuckle from the group.

She continued, "He taught me to ALWAYS have a plan when we were on our way to Savannah."

She took off her hat, "He also taught me to keep my hair short so the walkers or bandits couldn't grab it."

"Smart," Carlos said while everyone else nodded in agreement.

"How um...," Alvin asked nervously, "how did he die?"

Clementine got a far-away look on her face.

"I had a walkie-talkie with me to remind me of when my parents used to talk to me sometimes if they went to town. It ended up picking up someones signal in Savannah who started to trick me into thinking he had my parents with him." she said with shame.

"Lee found out and told me this guy was bad news, but I didn't believe him. One day when I asked him in Savannah if we could look for my parents and he said that we wouldn't have enough time...so I got angry with him and when he fell asleep, the guy on the radio told me he was out back with my parents." she told them and took a deep breath.

"He jumped me when I got close, gagged me and threw me over his shoulder, then took me to his place," she said.

"Did he hurt you," Nick asked with barely controlled anger.

Clementine shook her head, "No, he just said that I could be his new daughter and locked me in his closet until I "calmed down" as he said."

She took on a sad frown, "Lee came after so long and talked to the guy, I heard him say he was going to kill Lee so I managed to break out and stun him with a vase nearby. Lee dealt with him after that and that's when I noticed..." she said but was trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"You don't have to continue if you don't want to," Luke said as he knew most likely what was coming next.

Everyone agreed with Luke.

"You don't need to keep going," said Carlos with a soft look on his face.

Clementine wiped her eyes and smiled, "No, I need to tell you all. I trust you guys."

They all hesitantly nodded for her to continue.

"I noticed that his entire arm was gone." she said.

Everyones eyes went wide with shock.

"What happened," Sarah asked.

"I'm getting to it," Clementine responded calmly knowing Sarah always had a natural curiosity.

Sarah nodded as Clementine continued.

"Turns out that you can coat yourself in walker blood and you can sneak by walkers, that's how Lee got us out but I got distracted when I saw something." she said and took a minute to build up the courage to say what was next.

"I...saw my parents...but they were...they were walkers." she whispered in anguish.

Everyone gasped in shock and surprise. Sarah clutched Carlos' hand making sure he was still there and Carlos kissed her head and whispered soothing words to her.

"Lee passed out in the street after that and I dragged him to jewelry store nearby and shut it behind me. Lee woke up and told me...he told me he cut off his arm because he got bit." she managed to say.

She looked down at Lees photo, not wanting to see them look at her, "We found a pair of handcuffs on a dead security guard and he had me cuff him to a radiator...then he told me to get out."

She then started to get angry, "I was too weak, I had a gun and could have ended it...I could have ended his suffering but he said no...he didn't want me to shoot, not just because it could attract attention, but because he didn't want me to experience that...so I left and turned around just in time before I left to see him...pass away," she finished with a heavy heart.

Clementine didn't hear anything for the longest time until, one by one, everyone crowded around her and gave her a hug as she let the tears fall.

"He was a brave guy Clem," Luke said, "I'm sure he'd be proud of you."

Everyone nodded as they separated from the group hug.

Clementine smiled at them, "Thank you guys so much, you don't know how much that means to me."

They all gave her warm smiles and patted her on the back.

"We should put this fire out and go to sleep. We don't want to keep risking attracting any attention," Carlos said.

"I'll take first watch," Nick responded as Carlos nodded in confirmation.

Clementine and the others went to their own sleeping bags and went to sleep. All thinking about what was going to happen when they got to Savannah...

**There it is guys. Chapter 3! I really don't think Clem explained everything enough to the cabin group so I thought it would be cool for her to let it all out to them. As I said before, updates are now going to be slow because of college so just be patient with me so I can focus on both my school work and this story. THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU'RE SUPPORT AND BE SURE TO LEAVE A REVIEW! ALSO DON'T FORGET TO LEAVE YOUR IDEAS IN THE REVIEWS TOO TO GET A SHOUT-OUT IF I USE THEM! I want to make this as long as possible. PEACE OUT :)**


	4. Shaken to the Core

Outside of Savannah, a walker limps around lifelessly, looking for its prey to feast on and quench its hunger for flesh as well as its thirst for blood. It's milky white eyes stare with no emotion at its surroundings. An old, broken-down train and its tracks surround the lone walker, not catching its attention as it only cares for its next meal. It hears a rustle behind it, turning around with a growl just in time to see a machete cleave straight through its rotten, degraded neck severing it from its body as it slumps to the ground, never to rise again.

"We're clear y'all," Luke exclaims as he sheathes his weapon and kicks the walkers corpse away with disgust.

The cabin group emerged from the forest behind them with Clementine a little further back, reluctant to see the city where most of her worst memories had occurred. She immediately sees the train and is surprised that after all these years, it still remained. But as she thought about it, it started to make more sense. There probably weren't many people alive that operated or at least had basic knowledge on how to pilot one.

Luke, seeing Clementine at the back of the group, dropped back to her and draped an arm over her shoulder.

"Hey, you all right?" he asked her.

Clementine jumped slightly at the sudden physical contact, making Luke chuckle slightly and Clementine glare a bit.

"Yeah," she started, "just memories."

He followed her eyesight to see her looking at the train.

"That's how we got here." Clementine stated seeing Luke follow her vision.

Luke nods wordlessly, knowing that she will open up if she wants too. She already trusted the group with one of her past memories of her guardian Lee, which Luke felt pride for. If she wants to keep this to herself, she has all the right in the world to do so.

"We should try to scavenge what we can from this thing," he says inspecting the train, "can never be too sure I suppose."

Clementine nodded, "Yeah, I'll wait out here and keep an eye out for any walkers or...whatever decides to wander over."

Luke smiled at her confusing her.

"What?" she questioned him.

Luke shook his head, "Nothing, just still can't believe that you're probably smarter than half the people in this group if not the smartest."

Clementine glared, challenging him with an unamused eyebrow raised.

"And why is it so surprising." she asked.

Luke decided it was best not to answer that honestly, knowing she hated being called out on her age.

"Uhh...no reason Clem." he said while scratching the back of his neck nervously.

She grinned and nudged him playfully with her hip, surprisingly knocking him slightly off balance.

"That's what I thought." she exclaimed with a smirk.

Luke recovered and smirked back before rolling his eyes playfully and walking off to the train to scavenge with the others.

Clementine walked over to a nearby log and sat down where she had a perfect view of everything nearby. She spotted a few stray walkers waddling around aimlessly a good distance away.

That's when she spotted something.

She saw a figure in the distance sprinting with tremendous speed and ferocity. She was about to call out to the person, thinking they were scared and/or harmed. That's when the ominous figure turned to her. She saw the milky white eyes of a walker, but that wasn't all. Where the veins on a human were located, this walkers veins stood out with it's blood red color highlighting them with such emphasis, that they could be identified from at least half a mile away. It's teeth looked bared and as if they were stuck like that for quite some time. It's hands were clenching and unclenching as if it was trying to rip something open in its palm.

It looked straight at her and released a blood-curdling cry, that she could barely make out, that made Clementines blood run cold.

Then it charged.

She had never seen a walker, or ANYONE for that matter, run that fast before.

She started to panic as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out Lees pistol. She dropped the pistol in her panic but recovered just as the abomination was on her and delivered a shot to its head, silencing it before it could bite her. She backpedaled away from its lifeless body, breathing heavily as she rested her back against the base of a tree.

The cabin group rushed over to her when they heard the gunshot.

Luke was the first to see Clementines trembling form next to a odd-looking walker.

"CLEMENTINE!"

The rest of the group noticed her as soon as Luke shouted as they all rushed over to Clementine, except Carlos as he was eyeing the walker, to see if she was okay.

Alvin was the first to speak, "Clementine, what happened?"

Clementine was so shaken that she could hardly speak.

"Walker...running...so damn fast..." she managed to say through her heavy breathing, although it was hard to decipher, as Carlos approached the walker and started to examine it.

"Clem, just take a deep breath and calm down." Luke said although he was freaking out inside. He wondered why a lone walker had shaken her so much being as how she wasn't really that fearful when faced with walkers before.

"It...it's not..or was not..a normal walker...it ran at me, it must have been almost a quarter-mile away, it was so fast!" she managed.

Carlos came over with a distressed look when he finished examining the corpse, "There's no bite, no dehydration signs, no starvation signs or even a wound to indicate how he turned other than Clementines bullet."

Everyone just wore a confused expression

"What does that mean?" Nick asked.

Carlos sighed, "It means whatever this thing was, it wasn't turned like most people had been...whatever is causing this is something entirely new and, by what Clementine described, it makes lurkers VERY dangerous."

Luke sat beside Clementine and draped an arm carefully over her shoulders to comfort her as the cabin group exchanged nervous looks with one another with this news, "So...what should we do now?" Luke asked Carlos.

Carlos took a minute, "We get to shelter quickly and figure out a plan from there, this could be a coincidence and just a rare case but we shouldn't delay, we need to find a safe place first." he said as he helped Luke get Clementine on her feet while inspecting her for injuries.

"I'm okay, it just caught me by surprise, that's all." Clementine explained as she steadied herself.

The group gave her concerned and some reluctant looks before following Carlos down the hill toward Savannah. Clementine stayed with Luke near the front as she thought more about the abomination that attacked her. One thought was louder than the rest in her head though.

Could Lee be one of them?

**AN: IM BACK! I think I have finally worked up a schedule on how I can update this story. I will try to on either the weekend (Saturday most likely) and/or Mondays or Tuesdays. That's where I'm trying to shoot for. Also, what do you think about the new walker called an "Abomination" as I planned to call it. I'm gonna leave the decision to you if I should make this a thing or make it a one time deal because I know some people don't like to stray from the series with another type of walker, neither do I so I didn't change them too much. There isn't going to be any "Tanks" or "Witch" like "Left 4 Dead" had, just this one, unless you don't want it. BE SURE TO LEAVE A REVIEW! YOUR REVIEWS AND SUPPORT ARE WHAT KEEPS THIS STORY GOING STRONG! Thanks for reading and I'll see you all in the future :)**


	5. Panic

The group trudged through the remnants of what used to be a sprawling city, now turned to a barren wasteland of death and decay. Everyone was wary and a bit on edge since the incident back at the train. But they put most of those thoughts to the back of their minds for now. It wouldn't do any good to panic. If you panic, then you get desperate and when you get desperate...Clementine knew all too well what desperation would make you do.

Clementine recommended that they stick to the alleyways to travel. The group didn't hesitate to agree. After all, she had already been there before. It was also much more safer then trudging through the streets with little to no care like her group had done before when they were last there. But then again, there wasn't anything more dangerous then your standard walker back then. Now they had some type of abomination to worry about.

Nick peeked his head out of the alley to scout for any threats.

"See anything?" Carlos asked quietly.

Nick waited a moment, scanning the surroundings and surveying a route.

"Yeah," he answered, "we got a couple lurkers stalking around a gas station, by the look of it."

Luke looked a bit relieved.

"None of those freaky...glowers?" Luke asked him.

Everyone gave him a weird look.

"What?" he asked defensively and a bit embarrassed.

Clementine only shook her head with a smile while Sarah stifled a giggle.

"So...are there any?" he asked, hoping to divert the attention away.

Nick seemed a little annoyed at the question.

"You don't think I could spot a glowing lurker?" Nick retorted, raising his voice slightly with incredulously.

Luke raised his hands in surrender, "Sorry, sorry, just making sure we don't run into one."

Nick nodded, still a bit annoyed but understanding a little. That thing scared him a bit too back at the train.

"There's an alley near the gas station," Nick whispered, forming a plan, "the lurkers look a bit occupied with a body right now to be able to notice us."

Everyone nodded.

Luke stepped forward, "I'll take point, make sure they ain't too good with hearing."

He then turned to address everybody else, "As for everyone else...follow close, this could get a bit hectic."

Nick stepped back, allowing Luke to step forward and claim the front.

Alvin was whispering words of encouragement to Rebecca, making it apparent he was going to help her keep up while Carlos gave Sarah a comforting hug whispering to her. He then approached Luke for a moment to discuss something, leaving Sarah alone behind her for a moment. Clementine noticed Sarah trembling out of the corner of her eye and, with a bit of thought, took out her pistol and approached her discreetly. Carlos was too overprotective of Sarah. He isolated her from the world and never taught her about defending herself or anything about the walkers, so Clementine KNEW Carlos would never agree to give Sarah a weapon (even if he knew about Clementine teaching her).

"You remember when I taught you how to use this back at the cabin?" Clementine asked presenting the pistol to her.

Sarah's eyes widened in shock and disbelief as she quickly picked up what Clementine was insinuating. Her mouth seemed to open and close a few times before she regained her composure.

"Um...yeah, but...what about you..what are you going to use and what will my Dad say?" Sarah asked, warily accepting the weapon and storing it in her back pocket.

Clementine gave her an encouraging smile, "Don't worry about me, I'm small and fast...you need it more then I do right now, just in case something goes wrong."

Sarah was about to respond but Clementine interrupted her.

"I'll worry about Carlos, but ONLY use that if you ABSOLUTELY need to...alright?"

Sarah nodded reluctantly when Carlos approached, seemingly oblivious to the scene Sarah and Clementine had shared.

"Alright, everybody ready," Luke started, "follow me close y'all."

Luke darted out at a jogging pace and everyone else followed suite, albeit a bit further apart then they should be.

They had nearly passed the gas station and safely arrived into the alley when Clementine heard a cry that she had (unfortunately) heard before.

She spun around just in time to see an Abomination emerge from the alley they had just come from. She mentally scolded herself for not double checking their flank. The unholy flesh eater seemed to grin knowingly at her as it scanned her small frame, as if sensing she was unarmed.

Then it charged.

The cabin group had heard the cry but were far to occupied with the surrounding walkers that seemed to emerge out of the nearby buildings after hearing the Abominations rally cry.

Clementine made the mistake of taking her eyes off the mutated walker to process the situation. She felt a stabbing pain in her ankle and screamed out in agony as she was crushed to the ground with the Abomination on top of her.

"CLEM!"

Clementine barely registered Sarah yell out as she kept the Abomination from sinking its teeth into her face with her arms.

"SARAH," she heard Carlos yell, "WHERE DID YOU GET A GU-"

Carlos was cut off by a gun shot ringing out, and time seemed to slow down as Clementine caught a glimpse of the bullet, barely missing the Abomination, sail over its head and collide with a gas dispenser. Clementine had hardly any time to think as the gas station was set on fire.

Then the explosion came.

The Abomination and all the other walkers were damaged more then Clementine and the others, being as how their flesh was sensitive, weak, and rotting. All those walkers that weren't caught in the blast were disorientated by the noise and wandered off in different directions, their senses overwhelmed and blinded temporarily.

The cabin group was spared the explosion.

But Clementine was not given that luxury.

She vaguely heard someone calling her name as her world went dark around her.

* * *

><p><strong>Next time on the Walking Dead...<strong>

"Get her in here now!" Carlos bellowed in his panic.

* * *

><p>"SHIT, SHIT, SHIT MAN!" Luke whispered as he gazed at Clementine.<p>

* * *

><p>"BAR THE DOOR!"<p>

Alvin and Nick rushed to the double door and held it closed as walkers pummeled against it.

* * *

><p>"What are we going to do now," Luke asked in anguish.<p>

Nick glanced at Clementines bloody ankle as her form remained motionless and pale.

"I think you know what we gotta do man..." Nick responded with tears in his eyes, glancing at the pistol on the counter.

* * *

><p>"NO!"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: THERE...IT...IS! And before you ask, no, this is not the end. Just thought I would start giving some sneak peeks of the next chapter. And sorry for not updating earlier as I planned. Got caught up with school work (and maybe a bit of Dying Light ;]) and got sick on Wednesday so I couldn't update. Hope it was worth the wait! The next chapter may take a bit longer (an extra week at the most) because I have some papers to type for my classes. Remember to leave a review and stay tuned for the next chapter of "Set You Free"!<strong>


	6. Comatose

Walkers were all converging on the gas station from the explosion that they heard. The good news is that the explosion managed to kill the walkers at the station, including the abomination, and the walkers that were stunned by the explosion were picked off by the cabin group. The bad news ... the explosion had attracted most of the walkers in Savannah. They were reminded of this when they heard multiple screams in the distance.

The screams of Abominations.

Carlos glanced around nervously.

"We have to go NOW!" he said frantically.

Luke and Nick ran to Clementines broken and motionless form. Nick readied his gun in-case a few walkers or abominations managed to get there early while Luke picked Clementine up bridal style.

"I got Clem, LETS GO!" Luke shouted as they sprinted as far as they could from the site that would likely attract all of the undead in the city.

"Where the hell are we going!?" Alvin questioned as he ran, Rebecca only being able to keep up because of Alvin half carrying her.

"Anywhere but there," Carlos answered, "we need to find a place where we can look over Clementine."

Nick pointed up ahead.

"THERE!" he shouted as he shot down a walker emerging from underneath a car.

Up ahead from them stood a medium sized diner, the windows looked to be boarded up and still in good condition and the double doors looked pretty sturdy, and could be blocked and supported once they were inside.

Carlos ran ahead as fast as he could and, when he reached the doors, he slammed into them making the doors fly open.

Carlos turned around and fear quickly made its way on his facial expression. Seemingly endless waves of walkers were quickly gaining ground on them as the group ran as fast as they could to the diner.

Carlos recovered quickly when he saw that the group had made it to him, although he was still fearful.

"Get her in here now!" Carlos bellowed in his panic.

Luke was the first to make it in, then Alvin made it in helping Rebecca along the way as Sarah followed them in as well while Nick and Carlos held the walkers at bay. When everyone else made it in, they followed, quickly shutting the door.

"BAR THE DOOR!" Luke yelled when he realized the doors alone would not stop the walkers

Alvin and Nick rushed to the double doors and held them closed as walkers pummeled against them.

Sarah managed to find a walking cane in one of the dining booths that she quickly, albeit a bit nervously, handed the cane to Alvin who then quickly shoved the cane in between the door handles.

They all stepped back cautiously as the walkers outside kept up their assault on the doors, but fortunately, they held steadfast.

Eventually the walkers got bored and, slowly, started to dissipate from the doors, leaving only a few left outside the doors.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief until they heard Luke let out a sniffle. They turned to be greeted by Luke, who had navigated to the back of the diner, standing over Clementine, who he had laid down on a table.

The group all suddenly remembered Clementines situation and warily, but anxiously, approached to inspect her.

Her face was covered with scratches, no doubt the Abomination's doing, with many burn marks covering her arms, legs, and a few on her stomach where her clothes were burned away in small patches. Her hat was gone (most likely thrown from the explosion and, no doubt, destroyed), she was pale and still unconscious, but none of these came close to the worst injury.

On her left leg, near her ankle, ... was a bite mark.

The blood seemed to have clotted now but her leg, all the way down to her ankle, was covered in blood that had dried just a bit.

Time seemed to have stopped as the group processed what they were seeing and started to reflect on the time they had with Clementine.

Carlos knew he had been rough with Clementine, even when she had joined the group, but he was just being protective of her. She had quickly earned her way into the group and Carlos started to see her as one of his own. Even when he caught Sarah and Clementine going off in the woods to play games and he scolded her, he was doing it because he was worried for both Sarah and Clementine. He loved Clementine like a daughter ... like Sarah.

Sarah had liked Clementine from the start. She immediately wanted to be her friend. She often worried that her clueless and naive behavior would drive Clementine away from her. But then Clementine showed her that she had nothing to worry about and often played small pranks on the rest of the group with her or just played regular kid games like tag and hide-and-seek. Clem was Sarah's best friend.

Nick had been taken aback when he first saw her, as there was hardly a single living kid around other than Sarah. When he saw her dog bite though, he had wanted to save her. He didn't want to kill her but he hadn't wanted to see a little girl turn, it might have done him in after his mothers demise. He apologized and quickly started to admire the girl for her kindness and determination then that admiration turned to brotherly love toward her. He regretted not telling her how much she meant to him, being as how he had a hard time of showing his emotions. Nick had seen Clementine as a sister.

Alvin had, like Sarah, liked Clementine from the start. But when he saw the bite, he had been conflicted. He hadn't wanted her to suffer the pain of turning but her pleading had made him think twice on what was the truth. So he didn't know what to say when they put her in their shed. He regretted not stepping up and standing up for her. He didn't get to talk to her much but he wouldn't hesitate to lay down his life for her. Like Carlos, Alvin considered Clementine his daughter.

Rebecca had once been wary of her and tried to hate Clem (being as how Carver was after them made her paranoid), but with how nice and selfless she was, it was hard to NOT get attached to her and she quickly grew on Rebecca. She regretted all of her coldness toward her. She didn't see Clementine as a little girl, she saw her as an equal, an adult, ... a true friend ... and when the baby came, an older sister to her child.

Luke ... he felt an instant connection with Clementine when he found her pinned under that walker in the forest, about ready to pass out. He wasn't proud of his reaction when he found her dog bite, he regretted that as well as throwing her in their shed to possibly bleed out. He made sure though that she knew he was on her side. Once she had forgiven everyone, Clementine and Luke became inseparable. They would be telling jokes to each other all the time as well as teasing one another on their mistakes. Luke would tease her about her age while Clem would tease him about his corny jokes and clumsiness. Luke always wanted a sister ... and Clementine was happy to oblige.

Carlos seemed to snap out of his thoughts first and quickly commanded someone to look around and make sure the entire place was safe before taking his place by Clementines side to tend to her injuries.

"We don't want any stray lurkers to get the jump on us." Carlos explained.

Sarah stood by her dad if he needed anything while Luke remained by Clementines side, opposite of Carlos, clutching his "little sisters" hand. Alvin made sure Rebecca was comfortable while he grabbed his gun. Nick was about to follow but Alvin gave him an encouraging pat on the back.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine man, this place ain't that big."

Nick reluctantly let him go and scout out the diner while he stood by Sarah.

"What are we going to do?" Rebecca whispered in sadness as she looked at Clementines bite mark.

Nick glanced at Clementines bloody leg as her form remained motionless and pale.

"I think you know what we gotta do..." Nick responded with tears in his eyes, glancing at his pistol on the counter.

Luke looked up with anger at Nick.

"NO!" he semi-yelled.

Carlos examined the bite mark while the two argued back and forth.

"Do you think I want to kill her!?" Nick asked harshly.

"She's bitten man ... she as much family to me as you and as much as we wish there's something, ANYTHING that can be done ... we both know nothing can be done except taking off her arm and, in her state, she wouldn't survive that." he finished as he closed his eyes and looked down.

Carlos finished inspecting the bite mark and seemed confused.

"This is...," Carlos said while narrowing his eyes in concentration, "strange."

This earned everybody's attention as Luke was the first to respond.

"What do you mean?"

Carlos seemed as confused as they were, "I've examined a bite mark before and they had shown a clear sign of infection ... but ..."

"But what?" Rebecca asked just as Alvin returned after scouting the diner.

"There IS no infection here or even any sign that there will be." Carlos stated perplexed.

Everyone seemed to be happy at this, but were still confused.

"How is that possible?" Alvin asked.

"I have a theory," Carlos started after a few minutes of thinking, "that new type of lurker bit her and I think that, if my theory is correct, that type of lurker had a certain immune system that combated the infection but it failed. It still held off the infection, but not completely."

At everyone's confused expressions, he continued.

"I think that they were only turned partially, which would mean that they would retain some of their human qualities, which would explain how they are able to run and their veins that glow as a result of the infection mixing with their blood. It also means that they haven't developed certain characteristics that a regular lurker has."

Luke seemed to realize where he was going with his hypothesis.

"So," Luke started, "those things haven't developed the ability to turn someone."

Carlos nodded as a smile made its way onto his face as well as the others.

"Exactly, Clementine should be fine as long as she gets some rest." Carlos announced as he wrapped up her bite wound.

Sarah practically tackled Carlos in a hug, which he returned after he regained his bearings. Alvin shared a smile with Rebecca and hugged her while she covered her mouth in shock and happiness. Luke squeezed Clementines hand slightly and placed a brotherly kiss on her forehead with a big smile on his face as Nick gave a sigh of relief with a soft smile forming on his face now that Clementine wouldn't turn.

"She has a sprained arm though and that will need to be put in a sling and other than her burns, that's all the serious injuries she has." Carlos said after he separated from his daughter.

They all nodded and then spread out across the diner, waiting in anticipation for Clementines awakening from her comatose state.

**To be continued...**

**AN: I'm back! But I may be delaying the next chapter as well. I have even more work this week than last (Got three papers to type, discussion boards, and more :[) so there is a chance that the update could be delayed an extra week again :(. But fear not, I will NOT abandon this story. I just need you all to be patient with me. Thanks so much for your continued support! BE SURE TO LEAVE A REVIEW! THEY GIVE ME ENCOURAGEMENT TO KEEP ROLLING THESE OUT. And if I'm not mistaken, I've hit 2,000 views! HOLY SHIT! As I said before, THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!**


	7. Promise Me

"Clementine!"

Clementines eyes snapped open.

She was breathing heavily and (once she regained her bearings) looked around at her surroundings. What she saw makes her eyes widen.

She immediately recognizes Duck sitting next to her trying to get her to praise his drawing and admit his is better then hers.

She ignores him and scans her surroundings once more. She was at the motel with her previous group of survivors. It seemed almost a lifetime ago to Clementine since she had been there.

She spotted Lilly perched on top of the RV warily scanning the outside for possible threats, sporting an angry look.

Ben sat nearby her in a lawn chair in front of the RV with his eyes down, purposely avoiding eye contact with anyone.

Kenny sat with Katjaa on a couch on the other side of the RV, talking quietly amount themselves. Kenny was wearing a scowl that seemed to always be on his face while Katjaa presented a pleading look. They must be talking about leaving the group, Clementine remembered Kenny talking to Lee about it once.

Mark was nowhere to be found, Clementine assumed he was in one of the motel rooms catching up on sleep.

Carley was right above Clementine on the second floor of the motel. She was muttering something to herself. Clementine caught a few words like "stupid radio" and "dumb batteries." **(AN: I JUST COULDN'T RESIST :P)**

Larry was spotted near the fence-line wearing an angry look that Clementine thought oddly resembled Lilly's own scowl. His eyes followed a figure that made Clementines breath hitch.

Lee was walking toward her wearing a comforting smile that was always contagious to Clementine. He was wearing his blue button-up shirt with his peach colored pants. He walked like a completely healthy adult and nothing like an undead creature who feasted on flesh.

Clementine felt tears prick at her eyes.

He was here?

He was alive?

Lee's smile instantly disappeared and was replaced by a concerned and caring look.

"Clementine?" Lee asked.

Clementine couldn't respond as she was holding back a sob. She knew that this couldn't be real, she knew it was a dream. But that didn't prevent her from wanting to enjoy it.

"Are you alrig-?"

Clementine didn't give him enough time to respond, she had already jumped forward and wrapped Lee in the biggest hug she could possibly give the man.

"Lee..." Clementine sobbed. She noted she sounded younger. She was an eight (soon to be nine) year old again.

Everyone turned to look at her, confusion and concern crowding their facial features.

Lee didn't need her to explain anything. He just hugged her back and comforted the girl he thought of as his daughter.

After so long, Lee guided her toward a motel room behind them, figuring she wanted to talk alone with him away from everybody else's prying eyes. He closed the door behind him and turned to address Clementine.

"Whats wrong sweet pea?" Lee asked gently.

Clementine smiled a huge smile after hearing those words. She missed Lee calling her that. She wanted to tell him what was going to happen. She wanted to throw away the cursed radio that had caused the events leading to his death.

But Clementine knew it wouldn't matter. This was only a dream. Even if Lee took her words seriously, it wouldn't change anything. Lee had died and the events that she wished could be prevented had already happened. Not only that but Clementine feared if she would try to tell him the events that killed him, the dream would end and she would wake up crying.

So Clementine answered differently then she originally planned,

"I'm fine," Clementine started, wiping a tear from her eye, "I'm just glad to see you, that's all."

Lee smiled and pulled her into another hug, not that Clementine minded it.

"I'm glad to see you too Clementine." Lee said, even though he had talked to her five minutes before and she seemed perfectly fine.

For a while, they just stood there hugging trying to convey how much they each meant to each other.

After a while Clementine spoke, still hugging Lee with her face buried in his chest.

"Lee?"

"Yes sweet pea?"

Clementine hesitated for a bit but asked anyway.

"Can ... can you promise me something?"

Lee separated from the hug, looking down at Clementine with an honest expression

"Sure." he answered.

Clementine took a deep breath.

"I ... I want you to promise me ... that if someone is in danger ... that you won't try to play a hero ... that you won't ...that you won't die." She finished looking up at him with pleading eyes.

Lee was confused and a bit intrigued. Since when did Clementine get so smart and serious? What happened to the innocent little girl he had talked to yesterday?

"What do you mean?" Lee asked.

Clementine didn't look away or even blink as she answered.

"I don't want you to give up your life to save someone because I ... I can't lose another dad." Clementine finished.

Lee gave her a sad look, he was ecstatic that she thought of him as a father but what she was asking of him was something he knew he couldn't keep.

"I'm sorry sweet pea, but I can't promise that." he answered in a hushed tone.

"Why not!" Clementine asked hysterically, although she knew no matter what, nothing would save him.

Lee gave her a sad smile.

"Because if there's ever ANY chance that a life can be saved, that's a risk I am willing to take," Lee started explaining, "and I can't promise that I'm going to be fine and always come back safe."

Clementine was practically shaking now from the sobs that were wrenching from her when Lee gently grabbed her face when she tried to turn away and made her look at him.

"But I CAN promise I will always try my hardest to come back." Lee smiled at her reassuringly.

"But it won't be enough." Clementine thought to herself.

She just hugged Lee tighter and cried silently while Lee did the same with a tear sliding down his face.

Kissing her head, he said, "I love you sweet pea."

Despite her tears and despair, Clementine smiled once more.

"I love you too Lee."

**Done! I'M SO SO SO SO SORRY IT TOOK THIS LONG! College is getting the better of me. But good news is that Spring Break is coming up soon in a few weeks and I'll update as much as I can if the story is still going and not finished by then. Make sure to leave a review and give suggestions if you have any. YOUR WORDS GIVE THIS STORY POWER! Big thanks to "A Writer With Mixed Interests" for your constant support in reviewing since the beginning! Thanks for your patience! :)**


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